An exciting father-son prospect is one of two AFL Academy level two participants training at Richmond for the next two weeks.

Northern Knights outside midfielder Patrick Naish, the son of former Tiger Chris, and Bendigo Pioneer Kane Farrell will be put through their paces at Punt Road Oval as they gain an insight into the AFL environment.

The AFL Academy two squad includes the best 35 under-18 players in the country, who are eligible to be drafted in 2017.

Highly-skilled, speedy, outside midfielder Patrick Naish is the son of Chris Naish, who played 143 games with the Tigers from 1990-97.

Farrell is a midfielder/rebounding defender, who hails from Castlemaine.

In the 1990s Richmond had two of football's most successful father-son picks in Matthew Richardson and Joel Bowden. But unlike Geelong's riches won with Ablett, Scarlet and Hawkins, the Tiger pair were destined to endure a premiership drought that has now dragged into its 37th year.

Patrick Naish, son of former durable forward Chris, is 18 and on the verge of being Richmond's first father-son selection since 2003 when Thomas Roach – son of Michael – was selected and played 11 games.

Naish knows all about the dreams and the pitfalls of the yellow and black horde.

"Everyone loves them when they are winning," he laughs during a break in his Year 12 studies and training for this week's AFL Academy commitments.

The Northern Knight half-back has spent the past two years in the Tiger training fold and the experience has prepared him for life at Tigerland should his name be called.

"I'm loving it. Just being around professionals pretty much 24-7," he said. "I have loved the experience so far. They have been unreal the past couple of years I've been there they have been unreal in my development ... but yeah, a lot of young faces all enjoying themselves pretty much.

"Because I've been there for two years now I've got to know everyone on more of a personal level, which has been unreal. But early on it was blokes like Brandon Ellis, Nick Vlastin, which has been unreal as well. Just teaching me little things. And then in the midfield group, Cotchie and Dusty and Caddy have been unreal ... helping me and giving me little tips here and there."

Naish's father Chris played 143 games and kicked 21 goals for the Tigers between 1990 and 1997, including an unbroken run of games for three years up until the end of 1996. He finished his career with 18 games at Port Adelaide before starting a career in sports management.

Naish senior is now chief executive of the Reach Foundation after some years with the AFL Sportsready program. His background in youth development has stood his son in good stead.

"He's been unreal," Naish says of his father. "He's helped me with footy as well, but probably becoming a person as well outside of footy. I think personally the better person you are the better you will fit into a footy club. He's probably helped me with that a lot more, as well as footy obviously ... at the moment I'm at school just trying to get through that, trying to do the best that I can.

"It's over the air to be talked about obviously as a potential Richmond father-son, but I think there is still a fair bit to go, I've still got another full season ahead of me to get a kick. So hopefully I do play well in the games and then we can talk about that, but until I get there I still have a lot of hard work to go."

Naish's talents in various positions are clearly rated by the Tigers. AFL Academy coach Brenton Sanderson said on an AFL.com.au podcast that Naish was, "a very good decision-maker and exceptional kick ... a perfect set-up kick across half-back". He added: "I really like him. I think he's going to be a very good AFL talent."

Naish is clearly a student of the game, saying he has not based his own football on any one player, but how individuals play their roles on the field.

"I like to watch games, so if I go to a Richmond game I will just watch their half-back and watch their running patterns," he said. "I pick out a position on each team that I watch. I change players each week pretty much. But I watch more of their positioning and what they do, the different players that play in the roles that I play.

"I feel like I play a lot of roles on the ground, but I enjoy playing half-back and wing the most ... seeing the ground, seeing the play in front of me and making decisions from there."

And where does he need to improve to ensure his selection?

"Probably my inside, contested game, that has gone up a little but I think can still lift a little bit more. And just to continue to work on my strengths, like my kicking and my running. Just continue to work on them to make them more elite."

Naish's pre-season trip to the United States with the Academy players was also an eye-opener as he trained with elite athletes at a Los Angeles college.

"It was similar to Australia in that they are all passionate about their sport," he said of the athletes in the US. "The training facilities over there, especially the first week going to the academy was unreal ... an unbelievable experience. It was bloody tough as well, but I loved every bit of it.

"Playing AFL has been something I have wanted to do since I was born, so I am going to do everything I can to do it and whatever comes along I am hopefully going to use to my advantage. It is something I have wanted to do my whole life – I'd do anything for it."

Naish is also determined to keep the fun in his football, even as the Tigers' notoriously demanding fans start counting their early-season blessings.

"[My goal is] obviously getting drafted to any club, but especially Richmond as I've barracking for them my whole life. I loved going to their games as a kid ... I think just loving it as a kid, because Dad played it as well and he passed it on in a way.

"I just loved going for kicks with Dad. As a kid I went to all of his – because he coached Scotch originally – I'd go there every week and just watch it 24-7. I just loved it.

"And even still it's sort of a release for me just to take my mind off everything else and know that footy is always there that I can just play it and do what I love. And if I do get the opportunity to do that as a career that would be the best, that would be a dream come true."

PATRICK Naish was cheering as loud as any Richmond supporter at the MCG last Saturday as the success-starved club broke a 37-year flag-drought with a 48-point Grand Final win over Adelaide.

As of next season, there is the very real prospect the young midfielder, and passionate Tigers supporter, could be training and playing with his premiership heroes as Richmond contemplates selecting the son of former forward Chris as a father-son draftee in this year's NAB AFL Draft.

However, the 18-year-old is quick to reaffirm he was not one of the hordes of Tigers supporters to descend on Swan St after the game.

After all he had more important things on this week, like showing clubs what he can do at this week's NAB AFL Draft Combine.

"At the start (once the Tigers had won) I was more in shock and couldn't believe what had happened," Naish told AFL.com.au.

"It was unreal."

Naish has supported the Tigers his whole life and has a strong desire to join the club if it is prepared to take him as a father-son selection.

However, the Northern Knights prospect is also "keeping his options open" and understands the process of the academy/father-son bidding system can be a complex one.

Richmond has selections No.15 and No.17 in the first round of this year's draft and it is highly likely the Tigers will have to select him with one of those picks even if another club does not lodge a bid for Naish.

The son of former Tiger Chris Naish, who played 143 games with the Tigers between 1990-97 (before 18 games with Port Adelaide), has become a regular face at the Tigers this year.

Naish had the opportunity to train with the Tigers on a full-time basis in December last year as part of the NAB AFL Academy's program. He's also spent time there periodically (whether that be weights training or looking at video edits of his TAC Cup performances with Richmond assistant Andrew McQualter) over the last few years.

"It's been really good to get an insight into where the club's heading and on a personal level to get an understanding of the intensity the players train at and how they go about their lives 24/7," Naish said.

"That's something I want the opportunity to do next year so I've just got to keep continuing to work up to that level."

Naish believes the bonds he has already formed with the players and coaches at the club will help him make the transition to being a professional athlete, should he end up at Richmond.

Captain Trent Cotchin took him out for lunch on his birthday in January and he worked closely with Alex Rance, Dylan Grimes and Brandon Ellis on the defensive aspects of his game.

"They just brought me in straight away. They were open for me to see them whenever I wanted and I could have chats with them about footy or life and I felt like helped me a lot," Naish said.

Naish averaged 21.8 disposals (ranked 12th in the competition) for Vic Metro during this year's Under-18 Championships and was named as an All Australian after a standout carnival, where he thrived in the midfield and also off half-back.

He also averaged 13 kicks from his four games, ranked second out of all the players to appear in the Championships, and as a creative onballer he thrives when taking the game on and tucking the footy under his arm.

Despite the strong form he produced throughout the year for Vic Metro, the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup and for Ivanhoe Grammar at school level, Naish remains in the dark about Richmond's plans for him in the upcoming draft.

"Nothing's set in stone and they haven't given much away," Naish said.

"They were obviously focused on winning the 'Granny' which is fair enough but they haven't given me an indication of where I sit either way at this stage."

Naish credits father Chris for helping him get to this point of his career, but he also joked his Dad enjoyed pulling out his own highlight tapes from his Richmond days far too often.

Chris Naish also played 18 games for Port Adelaide between 1998 and 1999, with Patrick, who was born in 1999, being told he was in attendance for at least one of his father's games – although, of course, he can't remember it.

"On-field he gives me little pointers on what I need to do to improve and off-field it's just with organisation and having that mental strength to go throughout what has been a long year.

We have got to trade into second round or do a deal for 17 with 2 picks in early twenties or package Miles or Lolyd .Shifter makes him sound like a gun and has excellent kicking skills wasn't that the knock on him

IIRC, chris Naish was our highest paid player at one stage, when maxfield went to sydney we paid overs to keep Naish as We thought he would go to Sydney as well, as it turned out there as some AFL rule which prevented 2 players moving from one club to another..or am i living in a fantasy world??

If Patrick is going to take 3-4 years to develop where he can get injured, suffer menral issues etc it is a pass for mine.